Otze: the man who came in from the cold - For nearly three months, scientists have waited patiently to examine the body of a man preserved in ice for four millennia. By the end of January their wait should be over

Some archaeologists hailed it as the find of the century - a man born more than 4000 years ago, complete with skin and internal organs, who had been preserved in a glacier wedged between Italy and Austria. The discovery offered a unique opportunity to learn more about ancient man, his lifestyle and the world in which he lived.

But political wrangling over custody of the body kept scientists at bay. It took up to Christmas for political relations to thaw, opening the way for researchers to examine the man - nicknamed Otze (pronounced like 'curtsy' without the 'c') after the Otztaler Alpen mountains where he was found.

On 19 September last year, two German hikers discovered a frozen corpse in a remote Tyrolean mountain pass 3200 metres above sea level. Neither Helmut Simon nor his wife, Erika, had any idea how long the body had been entombed, assuming it to ...

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